A single episode of high fat intake injures liver metabolismIn a study published this week in the JCI, Michael Roden's lab at the German Diabetes Center found that one instance of fat intake, equivalent to the amount in a rich meal, led to immediate increases in fat accumulation and alterations in liver metabolism.

Long-term gains with early epilepsy surgeryThere are important, long-term gains from hastening the processes around surgical interventions against epilepsy -- before the disease has had too much negative impact on brain functions and patients' lives.

One of the world largest digital herbaria launchedWithin the framework of the 'Noah's ark' project, scientists from the Lomonosov Moscow State University have developed the largest digital herbarium in Russia -- a collection of scanned images of herbarium samples from the Faculty of Biology funds.

Wildlife-snaring crisis in Asian forestsA very important article co-authored by WCS scientist Tony Lynam has been published in this week's Science about a crisis emerging in Asia from snaring, which is wiping out wildlife in unprecedented numbers.

Using simulation tools to optimize soft robotic systemsSimulation is a valuable tool to improve the energy efficiency of machines and it is now being used to analyze and optimize soft robotic systems to increase their utility, as described in an article published in Soft Robotics.

Microscopic submarines for your stomachTiny 'submarines' that speed independently through the stomach, use gastric acid for fuel (while rapidly neutralizing it), and release their cargo precisely at the desired pH: Though it may sound like science fiction, this is a new method for treating stomach diseases with acid-sensitive drugs introduced by scientists in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

Study finds parrotfish are critical to coral reef healthIn the new study, published in the Jan. 23 issue of the journal Nature Communication, Scripps researchers Katie Cramer and Richard Norris developed a 3,000-year record of the abundance of parrotfish and urchins on reefs from the Caribbean side of Panama to help unravel the cause of the alarming modern-day shift from coral- to algae-dominated reefs occurring across the Caribbean.

Getting closer to treatment for Parkinson'sMore than 10 million people worldwide have Parkinson´s disease. A groundbreaking study from the University of Bergen, may answer why some develop the disease while others do not.

Spanish scientists create a 3-D bioprinter to print human skinScientists from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), CIEMAT (Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research), Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, in collaboration with the firm BioDan Group, have presented a prototype for a 3-D bioprinter that can create totally functional human skin.

A new model for activation of the immune systemBy studying a large protein (the C1 protein) with X-rays and electron microscopy, researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark have established a new model for how an important part of the innate immune system is activated.

Nutritional considerations for healthy aging and reduction in age-related chronic diseaseImproving dietary resilience and better integration of nutrition in the health care system can promote healthy aging and may significantly reduce the financial and societal burden of the 'silver tsunami.' This is the key finding of a 'Nutritional Considerations for Healthy Aging and Reduction in Age-Related Chronic Disease,' a new paper initiated under the auspices of the Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science Working Group on Nutrition for Aging Population, and published in Advances in Nutrition.

80-million-year-old dinosaur collagen confirmedUtilizing the most rigorous testing methods to date, researchers from North Carolina State University have isolated additional collagen peptides from an 80-million-year-old Brachylophosaurus.

Researcher finds potential way to reduce drug cravingsA new preclinical study led by a University of Texas at Dallas researcher shows that vagus nerve stimulation therapy might have the potential to help people overcome drug addiction by helping them learn new behaviors to replace those associated with seeking drugs.

Jet lag impairs performance of Major League Baseball playersA Northwestern University study of how jet lag affects Major League Baseball players traveling across just a few time zones found that when players travel in a way that misaligns their internal 24-hour clock with the natural environment and its cycle of sunlight, they suffer negative consequences.

Big Brother will have some difficulty 'watching you' in futureNew research done at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, has exciting implications for fast and secure data transfer in the future and will aid technological advances that seek to establish more secure quantum communication links over long distances.

Study reveals new genetic mechanism driving breast cancerResearchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered 'hotspots' of mutations in breast cancer genomes, where mutations thought to be inactive 'passengers' in the genome have now been shown to possibly drive further cancerous changes.

Archaeologists uncover new clues to Maya collapseUsing the largest set of radiocarbon dates ever obtained from a single Maya site, a team of archaeologists, led by the University of Arizona, developed a high-precision chronology that sheds new light on patterns leading up to the two major collapses of the Maya civilization.

Mummy visualization impresses in computer journalUsing visualisation technology developed at Linköping University under the auspices of Visualization Center C, visitors to the British Museum can reveal the murder of the mummified Geberlein Man, 5,500 years ago.

Choreographing the microRNA-target danceMolecular biologists at UT Southwestern Medical Center were able to uncover a new mechanism that choreographs a complex molecular dance by applying the latest in gene editing technology combined with a traditional method of making a microRNA target produce a fluorescent green protein.

Scientists say mom's cervical bacterial may be key to preventing premature birthA team of researchers that has confirmed the presence of bacteria in a woman's vagina and cervix may either increase the risk of premature birth or have a protective effect against it, has won the March of Dimes Award for Best Abstract on Prematurity at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™.

Today's rare meteorites were once commonFour-hundred and sixty-six million years ago, there was a giant asteroid collision in outer space, and the debris from that collision has been falling to Earth ever since.

NYC toddlers exposed to potentially harmful flame retardantsResearchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) within the Mailman School of Public Health report evidence of potentially harmful flame retardants on the hands and in the homes of 100 percent of a sample of New York City mothers and toddlers.

Study found brain abnormalities in fetuses exposed to ZikaAt the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, researchers with the Baylor College of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Houston, Texas partnered with the Maternal-Fetal Unit, CEDIFETAL, Centro de Diagnostico de Ultrasonido e Imagenes, CEDIUL, Barranquilla, Columbia and the Unidad De Fertildad Y Genetica De Cartagena, Cartagena de Indias, Columbia, to create the study, Characterization of brain malformations and volume assessment in fetuses with Zika Virus infection using MRI.

Research helps explain how B cell metabolism is controlledNew research from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) addresses the lack of knowledge about how B cell metabolism adapts to each of their various environments -- development in the bone marrow, proliferation and hypermutation in the lymph nodes and spleen and circulation in the blood.

Best Science Podcasts 2018

Peering Deeper Into SpaceThe past few years have ushered in an explosion of new discoveries about our universe. This hour, TED speakers explore the implications of these advances â and the lingering mysteries of the cosmos. Guests include theoretical physicist Allan Adams, planetary scientist Sara Seager, and astrophysicists Natasha Hurley-Walker and Jedidah Isler.

#461 AdhesivesThis week we're discussing glue from two very different times. We speak with Dr. Jianyu Li about his research into a new type of medical adhesive. And Dr. Geeske Langejans explains her work making and investigating Stone Age and Paleolithic glues.